Pols in dire need of intervention for debt addiction

State and local governments in Illinois have a problem none of our leaders seem willing to acknowledge: debt.

Like alcoholics seeking solutions at the bottom of a glass, Illinois officials respond to every new fiscal crisis by borrowing more money. Debt is soaring at government agencies across the state, and nobody wants to talk about the nasty question of how to pay it all back.

Surely, they think, if we can just get past this latest crisis, everything will work itself out . . . somehow.

So, the Regional Transportation Authority borrows money to give the Chicago Transit Authority cash to avoid fare hikes. Details are sketchy on where the money to repay the bonds will come from.

The state, in a double-debt-dip, borrows from the road fund to repay bonds floated to finance a massive capital spending plan. The temporary fix masks lawmakers' failure to create a reliable revenue stream to pay for badly needed infrastructure repairs and improvements. Their plan to repay the bonds by taxing video poker crumbled when towns around the state refused to allow this pernicious form of legalized gambling.

The state also floated bonds to raise cash to meet its generous pension obligations to state employees. If that weren't risky enough, officials siphoned off some bond proceeds to pay current state operating expenses.

This is a government in deep denial. Our leaders ignore basic fiscal principles, like: Don't borrow money to cover current operating expenses; borrow only to invest in assets that generate long-term economic benefits; create dedicated revenue streams to repay borrowings dedicated to a particular purpose.

Illinois is headed for a fiscal crack-up and a hangover that will last for years. A convenient short-term fix, debt becomes a debilitating long-term problem as repayment obligations claim an ever-larger share of the budget and eventually paralyze government.

In the end, the state could lose the ability to borrow altogether, as its debt ratings plunge and investors shun its bonds.